Scientists Bank on Stress-Health Link

UCSF Researchers Want to Market a DNA Test to Monitor Well-Being Over a Lifetime; the Push for Longer Telomeres

By

Amir Efrati

Updated March 17, 2011 12:01 a.m. ET

Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, have been at the forefront of an emerging medical field that seeks to identify and help treat problems caused by stress. Now, these scientists hope to market their findings to physicians in the form of a test that can act as a personal report card on patients' health.

ENLARGE

Telome Health says its test of a part of DNA known as telomeres could offer patients a regular reading on their overall health. Above, Telome researcher Jue Lin working in the company's Menlo Park lab this week.
Max Whittaker/Prime for The Wall Street Journal

"The science is there, and the time is right to bring it to the public," said Elizabeth Blackburn, one of the UCSF researchers who co-founded the business, Telome Health Inc. "We see a big market opportunity for this."

Telome Health, which has 10 employees, is launching its website Thursday to mark a more public phase of its business, following a flurry of studies in recent years that piggybacked on research by Ms. Blackburn and two of her colleagues, Jue Lin and Elissa Epel.

In 2004, the researchers showed that psychological stress harms a key component of human cells, called telomeres. Telomeres, which are pieces of DNA, are attached to and protect the chromosomes of cells. Telomeres allow chromosomes to divide properly when, say, the body needs more white blood cells to fight infection.

Telomeres fray naturally as a person ages but higher levels of psychological stress can degrade telomeres at a faster rate, studies by UCSF and other researchers indicate.

Survival Guide

Recent studies suggest the following could lead to longer telomeres or increased levels of telomerase, an enzyme that improves telomere length:

Exercise

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors antidepressant medication

Omega-3 fatty acids

Anti-oxidants in supplements or food

Stress-reduction techniques such as meditation

Source: Elissa Epel, co-founder of Telome Health Inc.

Shorter telomeres in human cells have been associated with slower wound healing, earlier mortality, cardiovascular disease and poor immune defenses, said Bruce McEwen, a professor at Rockefeller University in New York who studies the effects of stress on the brain and immune system. He isn't involved in Telome Health.

Still, it might not be easy to persuade doctors and the public that they should pay to have their DNA examined as part of a regular check-up.

"This could become part of a routine physical exam" in the future, Mr. McEwen said, where "telomere length measurement is one of several tests performed using a person's blood sample, including cholesterol and blood-sugar levels." But the test isn't likely to catch on widely until it can be marketed at a lower cost, he said.

Telome Health's tests, which cost about $200 per sample, aren't available to the public yet. But it expects to obtain certification later this year that will allow physicians to request tests for individual patients, said Dan Hunt, Telome Health's interim chief executive.

Mr. Hunt says the test would allow people to gauge their overall health status and determine whether lifestyle changes are necessary. Testing a person's telomere length over time could help determine whether behaviors such as increased exercise or meditation, for instance, are slowing down the aging of telomeres or, in some cases, even increasing their length, researchers say.

Last summer, the Menlo Park-based company hired Mr. Hunt, a former pharmaceutical-company executive, to develop its commercial strategy. Mr. Hunt said the team is working on a way to detect telomere length from saliva rather than blood samples, the current method. The company, founded last year, has received more than $650,000 in funding from friends, investors in early-stage start-ups and an undisclosed corporate investor.

But some in the medical community say it could be years before health providers can adequately evaluate telomere testing.

ENLARGE

Telome Health co-founder Elizabeth Blackburn, in 2006.
Elisabeth Fall

"Lots of these tests come and go," said Douglas A. Granger, a professor of nursing and public health at Johns Hopkins University. He cited the test for prostate-specific antigen, or PSA, which gained popularity as a way to detect prostate disorders. But a scientist who helped discover PSA last year wrote an article questioning the effectiveness of the test. The test is still widely administered.

Mr. Granger also speaks from experience, having worked to take another kind of stress measurement to a broader audience. In 1998, he formed Salimetrics LLC, which provides tools for academic researchers to measure chemicals in saliva, including the cortisol hormone that denotes physical or psychological stress. The company generates $5 million to $10 million a year in revenue, Mr. Granger said.

One factor Telome Health has in its favor: Ms. Blackburn won a Nobel Prize in 2009 for her co-discoveries decades earlier of telomeres and the enzyme that builds them, called telomerase.

One of Telome Health's first clients is Shaklee Corp., a health-supplement maker in Pleasanton, Calif., with $500 million in annual revenue, said Les Wong, its vice president of health sciences. Shaklee is looking to prove that taking its supplements, such as protein powders, as part of a healthy lifestyle can result in longer telomeres, Mr. Wong said.

Shaklee recently submitted blood samples from more than 100 individuals who use its products to Telome Health and is awaiting results.

Telome Health faces a competitor in Repeat Diagnostics Inc. of Canada, founded in 2005 by employees of the government-run British Columbia Cancer Agency Research Centre in Vancouver.

Gary de Jong, owner of Repeat Diagnostics, said hundreds of children's hospitals, including one associated with UCSF, have sent samples to his lab to help diagnose rare illnesses that take a toll on telomere length. Mr. de Jong declined to say how much revenue his company generates from tests that cost $400 or more.

Ms. Blackburn says Telome Health's test isn't focused on diagnosing diseases but rather is a much broader measure of overall health.

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